The Caribbean Tourism Organization was established in January 1989 out of a merger of the Caribbean Tourism Association, which was founded in 1951, and the Caribbean Tourism Research and Development Centre which was founded in 1974. It is an international development agency functioning under a Headquarters Agreement with the Government of Barbados where its headquarters are located. The organization provides specialized support and technical assistance to member countries in the areas of: Regional Marketing, Human Resource Development , Research and Information Technology, Sustainable Tourism Development, Communications.

The CTO State of the Industry Conference is CTO’s annual convocation where Caribbean tourism practitioners, policy makers and strategic partners, at the highest levels, gather to discuss issues, identify solutions and generally develop courses of action that will benefit the tourism industry in the Caribbean.

Speakers of international acclaim will provide best case practices and winning strategies on a wide range of topics that are critical to the growth of regional tourism, all with a view toward the development of a sustainable tourism industry, that will position the Caribbean as the most desirable, year-round warm weather destination by 2017.

Youth from several CTO member countries will make their contributions to the discussions at a Youth Congress, one of the vehicles through which CTO encourages the best and brightest to consider tourism as a career.

This is a not to be missed event for serious Caribbean tourism leaders and influencers, thought leaders, educators and marketing and development strategists. The Caribbean Tourism Organization, therefore, invites all tourism stakeholders to participate in this year’s State of the Industry Conferences (SOTIC), contribute to the discussion and be a part of the solution.